Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I love pointless lists. I can't explain why, but I do. So I'm going to try to do a new pointless list every Tuesday (weather permitting).

Packer fans are starting to buzz about the wisdom of letting Corey Williams fly the coop last offseason. Despite Williams's thoroughly underwhelming performance this year, some are suggesting that Thompson should have signed him anyway. I don't follow the logic. It's as if nobody remembers Clete Hunt. Anyhow, it is way too early to decide whether letting Williams leave was a good move or a bad move.

Here is my list of the worst Packer free agent losses. Some ground rules. The player must have been a free agent and not a roster cut (like Wahle and Sharper) or a trade (like Wayne Simmons).

(5)Keith McKenzie: This is admittedly not an obvious pick. McKenzie was little more than a "pretty good" situational pass rush. McKenzie makes my list not necessarily because he was a great player but because his absence left a hole on the team that the Packers over-reacted to fill. The following draft the Packers selected Jamal Reynolds with the 10th overall pick and the rest is history.

(4) Craig Hendrich: Ron Wolf has named Hendrich his biggest mistake as GM (or something like that). While I don't think Hendrich is even close to Wolf's biggest blunder, Hendrich was a hell of a punter for the Packers. We all learned this season just how underrrated the punter can be.

(3) Adam Timmerman: Timmerman went on to have a very good career with St. Louis, winning another Super Bowl and being named All-Pro.

(2) Eugene Robinson: Robinson was named All-Pro the season after leaving the Packers. And he went to the Super Bowl (and jail before that). Meanwhile, the Packers struggled with a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time Darren Sharper.

(1)Bryce Paup: This is a no-brainer. The following season after leaving the Packers, Bryce Paup was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. That same season, the Packers were within spitting distance from the Super Bowl. Even though his replacement, Simmons, was a pretty good player in his own right, a DPOY-caliber player very well may have put the Packers over the top.